About this Research Topic
Plants and animals have been the two main food sources throughout human history. With the development of food and nutrition science and the increase in global population, it has become apparent that maintaining the current consumption rate of animal food products will result in considerable environmental and public health concerns (and is already posing this risk). Therefore, consumers are increasingly interested in reducing their dietary intake of animal-based food products. This demand goes hand in hand with soaring research and development efforts in the food industry to improve the quality of existing plant-based foods and create a new generation of plant-derived products that closely replicate the properties of their animal counterparts.
Up until now, significant efforts have focused on the improvement of physicochemical properties, textural and sensory performance as well as the nutritional profile of developed animal analogues such as plant-based meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, and their products. However, the challenge in this research area lies in designing foods and beverages entirely from botanical sources with quality attributes (e.g. appearance, composition, texture, flavour, mouthfeel) and functionality that match consumers’ preferences and acceptability. Meanwhile, the standardizing methods to analyze and characterize the properties of plant-based alternatives become important.
The aim of this Research Topic is to provide a selection of methods to characterize the quality of food products intended to act as plant-based alternatives to animal or animal-derived products. We welcome studies that implement or develop new and advanced experimental tools and techniques for the quality characterization of plant-based foods. These products will be evaluated regarding:
• Appearance
• Texture
• Mouthfeel
• Microstructure
• Flavor
• Digestibility
• Nutritional value
• Storage stability
This Research Topic also welcomes studies that implement or develop new and advanced experimental tools and techniques for the quality characterization of plant-based foods. Authors are invited to submit article types such as, but not limited to, original research articles, research reviews, and brief communications
Up until now, significant efforts have focused on the improvement of physicochemical properties, textural and sensory performance as well as the nutritional profile of developed animal analogues such as plant-based meat, fish, eggs, milk, cheese, and their products. However, the challenge in this research area lies in designing foods and beverages entirely from botanical sources with quality attributes (e.g. appearance, composition, texture, flavour, mouthfeel) and functionality that match consumers’ preferences and acceptability. Meanwhile, the standardizing methods to analyze and characterize the properties of plant-based alternatives become important.
The aim of this Research Topic is to provide a selection of methods to characterize the quality of food products intended to act as plant-based alternatives to animal or animal-derived products. We welcome studies that implement or develop new and advanced experimental tools and techniques for the quality characterization of plant-based foods. These products will be evaluated regarding:
• Appearance
• Texture
• Mouthfeel
• Microstructure
• Flavor
• Digestibility
• Nutritional value
• Storage stability
This Research Topic also welcomes studies that implement or develop new and advanced experimental tools and techniques for the quality characterization of plant-based foods. Authors are invited to submit article types such as, but not limited to, original research articles, research reviews, and brief communications
Keywords: Plant based alternatives, Alternative proteins, Food characterization, Appearance, Texture, Flavor, Sensory, Digestibility
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
